Shower doors



Sept. 18, 1962 J. A. BULLOCK 3,054,118

SHOWER DOORS Filed Oct. 50, 1961 United States Patent 3,054,118 SHOWER DOORS James A. Bullock, 13 Green Island Ave., Latham, N.Y. Fiied Oct. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 149,489 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-149) This invention relates generally to bath tub accessories, and more specifically to a sliding door arrangement which permits access to the entire bath tub area at one time if so desired.

The conventional sliding door arrangement for bath tubs involves the provision of two vertically spaced twin channel tracks which slideably receive translucent doors for the purpose of providing privacy for the bather and a protective wall for the shower. It will be appreciated that the doors may be opened to either side of the tub but at no time can access be gained to both ends of the tub simultaneously. This situation makes the bathing of small children a difficult if not impossible problem. It is important for the safety of the child that full access to the entire tub must be available at one time, and it is to this end that my invention is directed.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide protective sliding doors for shower bath tubs which may be operated in a conventional manner to enable access to either end of the bath tub, or alternatively may be swung open to permit access along the entire length of the tub at one time.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a sliding door arrangement for bath tubs which is practical and attractive in appearance and permits the safe bathing of young children.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a sliding door arrangement of the above class which is simple and rugged in construction, and is eflicient in operation.

A full understanding of the construction of the invention, together with further novel features and advantages, will be had from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing the sliding door assembly mounted in position to provide closure for a conventional bath tub.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the sliding door components which combine to form my invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional end elevation taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral 5 represents a conventional bath tub which is inset between two end walls 6 as is common practice in the construction of modern bathrooms. The bath tub has a front wall 8, and a shower head 7 is located at an upper portion of one of the end walls 6. A rectangular mounting plate 10 is secured to the end wall 6 so as to extend vertically above the end of the front wall 8 of the tub. A hinged channel frame 11 comprises two vertically spaced horizontally extending channel sections 12 which are secured at one end by a vertical member 13. Each channel section is provided with spaced parallel channels 14 which are adapted to slideably receive door frames 15 therebetween. The outer ends of the channels are cut at an angle as indicated at 16 to permit closing abutment with the two fixed channel sections 17 and 18. Strap hinges 19 are secured at one end to the mounting plate 10, and at their other end in an overlapping secured manner to the vertical member 13 and the adjacent portions of the horizontal channel sections 12. The door frames 15 mount translucent panels 20 and may be simultaneously received within the length of the hinge-d channel frame 11 such that the door frames and the channel frame may be selectively hinged into an open position relative to the bath tub, as indicated by the arrow 21.

The fixed channel section 17 is rigidly mounted at one end to the remaining end wall 6 and at its other end to a vertically extending support stay 22 which may extend to the ceiling 23, or may terminate at a horizontally extending support rail 24. The channel section has channels 25 which are disposed in horizontal alignment with the channels 14 in the channel section 12, the said section 12 being removably retained in such alignment by means of a protruding back stop 26 and a pivotally mounted catch 27 which is adapted to extend beyond the end of the section 17 for engagement in a protruding lug 28 on the section 12. The fixed channel section 18 is rigidly secured to the top of the front wall 8 and is positioned so as to align with the lower channel section 12 of the channel frame 11 when the said frame is in a closed position. A back stop 29 may protrude from the end of the section 18 for engagement by the channel frame in the closed position. Suitable handles 30 are mounted on the door frames to permit sliding operation of the same within the channel section, and provide means for pivotally opening the hinged channel frame when the two door frames are disposed therewithin.

Having described the invention with considerable particularity, it should be understood that various modifications may be made to the precise detail thereof, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

Iclaim:

l. A sliding door assembly for a bath tub inset between opposed end walls, and comprising, a channel frame having vertically spaced parallel double channel tracks for slideably receiving two door frames, said frame hingedly mounted to one of the end walls, said frame extending half the length of the tub and abutting along its lower edges with the front wall of the bath tub, fixed channel sections disposed on said front wall and vertically thereabove such that the channel frame aligns therewith when in abutment with the front wall, said channel sections having double channel tracks for selectively receiving said door frames therein in a sliding relationship.

2. A sliding door assembly according to claim 1, wherein a rectangular mounting plate is secured vertically to one of the end walls, and hinges mounted on the plate and cooperating with the channel frame, permitting the said frame to be pivotally moved relative the plate to provide access to the entire length of the tub.

3. A sliding door assembly according to claim 1, wherein stops and a catch are mounted to protrude from the fixed channel sections for locking the channel frame in alignment with the said sections.

No references cited. 

